Please note: following Ofsted’s publication of amended handbooks we will be updating this guidance further within the next few days.
On 29 March 2021 Ofsted announced its plans for school inspections for the remainder of the academic year 2020/21.
Ofsted has committed to publishing an amended School Inspection Handbook (School Inspection Handbook and Section 8 School Inspection Handbook) with revisions to inspection methodology ‘after the Easter break’.
This guide sets out answers to practical questions about how Ofsted intends to inspect schools from May 2021. This advice replaces previous revised guidance published on 3 February 2021.
Ofsted’s plans include:
- section 8 monitoring inspections of ‘inadequate’ schools
- section 8 monitoring inspections of ‘requires improvement’ schools
- section 8 monitoring inspections of some ‘good’ and ‘outstanding’ schools
- circumstances where a section 8 monitoring inspection may be ‘converted’ to a full section 5 inspection, which could result in a change to a school’s overall effectiveness grade
- specific inspection arrangements for secondary schools.
This advice includes suggested steps that schools can take in circumstances where a deferral is appropriate.
- How will Ofsted inspect from May 2021?
- What will be the focus of these inspections?
- Will section 8 monitoring inspections or section 8 inspections of ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’ schools result in a grade?
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How is the inspection methodology being amended to take account of the impact of the pandemic?
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How should I approach a phone call notifying me that my school is going to be inspected?
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Can I request a deferral?
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What do I do if I have concerns about an inspection when I am notified, or concerns during the inspection?
- Routine (section 5) inspections of all schools remain suspended for the remainder of the academic year 2020/21. Ofsted plans to restart routine inspections from September 2021.
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Ofsted says it will conduct some onsite, lighter touch section 8 inspections during summer term. Note that in all of the examples listed below, Ofsted has indicated there is a possibility that a section 8 inspection could be ‘converted’ to a section 5 inspection, in which case the full range of judgements must be made, including a judgement on the school’s overall effectiveness.
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Secondary schools will not be inspected during the first half (term 5) of the summer term 2021 (except where there are serious concerns).
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From 4 May 2021, Ofsted will undertake section 8 monitoring inspections of schools previously judged as ‘inadequate’ or ‘requires improvement’.
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'Good' schools that have not been inspected within their statutory window (that is, exceeding five years from the end of the school year in which the school was last inspected under section 5) may be inspected under section 8. That section 8 inspection can be used to ‘reset’ the clock for the school’s next section 5 inspection. Section 8 inspections of good schools will follow the practice set out in the Section 8 School Inspection Handbook.
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‘Outstanding’ schools that request an inspection may be inspected under section 8. Ofsted will prioritise those that have had the longest period without inspection (current regulations require Ofsted to inspect all previously exempt outstanding schools by 1 August 2026). A school can request an inspection by writing to the relevant Ofsted regional director.
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Ofsted may also use s8 powers to conduct ‘no formal designation’ inspections of any school where serious concerns have arisen (typically, NFD inspections are in response to a qualifying complaint(s) that gives rise to concerns about the safety of pupils and staff, or where there may be a breakdown in leadership and management of a school). The inspection should be confined to the issues of concern, but Ofsted has the power to ‘convert’ this inspection to a section 5 inspection if it has cause to do so.
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Ofsted says that it will use inspections to 'provide reassurance about how children and learners are catching up' and that inspectors will assess ‘how well schools… are educating their learners and keeping them safe’.
Ofsted says it is working closely with Kevan Collins in order that its work can support 'longer term education recovery'.
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Section 8 inspections are not graded. A section 8 inspection of a ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’ school will not result in a change to a school’s grade, but can reset the school’s inspection interval.
However, Ofsted also says that 'where the evidence that a school’s current grade no is no longer a fair reflection of its work… inspectors will be able to ‘convert’ the section 8 inspection to a full section 5 inspection either immediately or later in the term.'
In practice, this means that a monitoring inspection of an ‘inadequate’ school could be converted to allow the school to be removed from, for example, Special Measures, or for a school previously judged as ‘requires improvement’ to be judged ‘good’ or better overall.
Note also that Ofsted can ‘convert’ any section 8 inspection where inspectors have serious concerns about a school. Inspectors would make and report the full range of section 5 judgments, including a judgement on a school’s overall effectiveness.
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In discussions with Ofsted, NAHT has made clear that schools continue to face multiple and differing pressures as a result of the pandemic. The context and circumstances of individual schools vary greatly: all schools have experienced huge disruption to their normal models of learning, and local conditions have varied wildly across the country over the last year, meaning that schools have had to adapt to the impact of high infection rates, local lockdowns and periods of self-isolation, while supporting the needs of the whole school community.
NAHT has made clear members’ concerns about the need for consistency, comparability and fairness in the application of the inspection framework in these extraordinary circumstances. NAHT remains deeply concerned about the use performance and outcomes data, and whether it is really feasible in the current circumstances for inspectors to evaluate a school’s curriculum in order to make the existing quality of education judgement.
We will update this section when Ofsted provides detail of amendments to its inspection methodology.
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The phone call is an opportunity to explain the context, circumstances, restrictions and measures in force in your school and set out how that might affect an inspector’s work.
NAHT suggests that you explain:
- staffing levels, numbers shielding or absent through illness, including TA and support staff cover and any particular circumstances that have restricted their ability to provide remote education
- where applicable, any rota systems or off-site arrangements for staff
- pressures on specific areas of the school, including, for example, leadership
- changes to the curriculum that are a result of maintaining covid measures
- the steps that you are taking to support pupils’ return to face-to-face learning, and how you are assessing their needs and focusing your school’s work to aid educational recovery, and support their mental health and well-being
- if relevant, the number of pupils working remotely versus numbers onsite and operational pressures this is creating
- restrictions on entry to, and movement within, the school site
- how you developed, evaluated and reviewed your remote learning offer; your rationale for its design within your school; and the adaptations and organisational change that have been necessary according to your school’s circumstances and context.
NAHT expects that inspectors will continue to work flexibly to take account of schools’ individual circumstances and contexts.
It is likely that some onsite activities, such as lesson visits, book trawls, movement around the site and face-to-face discussions with staff may need to be amended or even replaced by remote activities. If infection levels rise in the coming weeks and months there may be some local areas where it may not be appropriate for inspectors to be onsite at all.
This is the right time to:
- explain any limitations on inspection activity that result from your risk assessment and covid-secure measures; for example inspectors may not be able to visit classrooms or access various parts of the school in order to maintain ‘bubbles’ for staff and pupils; or they may be limited to a single ventilated space within the school, using Teams or other meeting tools to hold discussions
- if necessary, suggest that some elements might be best achieved through different, remote or virtual means; for example, it may be appropriate for inspectors to meet staff or pupils outside of in a well-ventilated large indoor space. In circumstances where infection rates are very high and a school is restricting access to the site solely to specific staff and pupils it may be that some meetings might be conducted by Teams or a similar platform
- request a deferral where the operational challenges posed by an inspection are likely to negatively impact the safe running of your school; or where your school does not have capacity to support the inspection. If this is the case please see the section on deferrals, below.
Members are advised to contact NAHT’s helpline (0300 30 30 333 and select option 1) for assistance at the earliest opportunity if this is required.
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Yes - Ofsted's deferral policy includes a section on covid that states:
'If providers have concerns about the timing of their inspection or visit and request a deferral, we will judge each case on its own merits, in line with this policy. COVID-19 restrictions that require providers to close, or other restrictions as a result of COVID-19, may be a relevant factor for deferral.’
School leaders are best placed to advise inspectors on their own school’s individual circumstances and context.
What are the grounds for deferral?
NAHT advises that where there are grounds for deferral, these will depend on a school’s individual context and circumstances, and might include more than one of the examples below. This list is not exhaustive and does not seek to cover all eventualities.
- The school’s risk assessment in response to changing local circumstances, or a local or national lockdown has established a strict programme of controls that restricts entrance only to essential staff and specific pupils.
- Inspectors moving within the school would breach the school’s risk assessment and covid-secure policies.
- Where there is a mixture of onsite and remote learning, the high number of children of key workers and vulnerable pupils onsite is creating operational stress and stretching staff resources to the maximum, making the servicing of an inspection untenable.
- The school is operating in an area of very high transmission.
- Pupils and/or staff are operating in strictly defined ‘bubbles’ to prevent transmission.
- The school is operating a minimum onsite staffing model, where school leaders have key operational roles that require their presence throughout the day.
- The school is struggling with sufficiency of staff due to illness and self-isolation.
It might be possible for inspectors to mitigate the deferral request by conducting specific aspects of the inspection remotely. In these circumstances the solution probably lies in both the school and the inspection team operating flexibly.
Members are advised to contact NAHT’s helpline (0300 30 30 333 and select option 1) for assistance at the earliest opportunity if this is required.
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It is critical to raise concerns at the earliest opportunity with the lead inspector. If the lead inspector is unable to resolve the concerns the matter should be raised with Ofsted. Do not wait to raise concerns until after the inspection has been completed.
In all cases, seek advice from NAHT’s helpline (0300 30 30 333 and select option 1) at the earliest opportunity.
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First published 30 April 2021